Archos 7 Home Tablet sees revision 2, with Android 2.1 and faster 800MHz CPU
The Archos 7 Home Tablet was something of a disappointment, and Archos has shipped bigger and better things since, but the firm isn’t done with the original affordable Android slate quite yet. We’ve confirmed with Archos that a “v2” revision is now shipping in Europe with three things the original lacked — an accelerometer, a relatively recent version of Android (2.1) and an 800MHz Rockchip CPU. Make no mistake, those are still budget specs, and you’ll almost certainly still have to hack your own Android Market on to get a full quota of apps, but it’s not like you’re paying any more for the extra oomph. The updated version has been spotted at Expansys for the same $200, which might actually might make it one of the best bang-for-the-buck tablets out there. Look how far we’ve come.
ASUS teases Eee Pad and Eee Slate ahead of CES launch
Seems like all these CES vendors have wised up to the fact that announcing their new products amidst a maelstrom of new product announcements tends to be slightly counterproductive. So, naturally, they’re spending their December carefully teasing out little pre-release details. It’s ASUS’ turn today, who clearly isn’t content just telling us about its Eee Pad / Slate / Tablet / Chopping Board and has decided to dish out some candid hardware shots. What we see above is a USB 3.0 port embedded within a very slinky keyboard panel, which itself seems attached to a touchscreen display (with Android buttons!) up top. It’s looking more like a tablet PC (presumably with a pivoting screen) than a tablet, which is corroborated by other images at the source link. Two devices are included in this teaser picture set, with the other looking like it has a slider keyboard (see it after the break) — none of it is definitive just yet, but it makes for a good guessing game to fill the time until the big show kicks off in Vegas next week.
Lenovo LePad and U1 Hybrid
Believe it or not, it’s been almost a year since we caught a look at Lenovo’s IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, and while we’ve heard numerous times that the device and a new tablet part — the LePad — were still kicking, we’ve got some rock solid evidence this time around. Okay, we got some of the best evidence out there — pictures and early impressions of the China-bound 10.1-inch LePad tablet and its U1 dock / shell. Now, we don’t want to get your hopes up too much — we didn’t get to spend all that much time with either of the units and they were in very early form, but that didn’t stop us from playing around with both of them and taking some notes. Interested? We thought so. Hit the break for a short rundown and don’t forget to peruse the gallery below on your way. Read more 
HTC tablet release date set for 2011 CEO declares
Smartphone powerhouse HTC is to take on the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab next year as the company’s CEO hints towards a 2011 HTC tablet arrival.
In an interview with mobilebusinessbriefing.com HTC CEO Peter Chou tantalisingly declared: “[Customers] may want Windows or Android; or they may want big screen or small screen, they may want keyboard or tablet; HTC will let the consumer decide.”
Remaining tight-lipped about an expected arrival date or confirmed specifications for the expected HTC tablet, Chou instead turned focus to the company’s future in Long-Term Evolution (LTE) handsets that offer a faster mobile network connection than current 3G of GSM systems. US network providers Verizon and MetroPCS currently offer such 4G LTE networks although the service is restricted to major cities at present.
With much rumour and speculation surrounding a 4G compatible Apple iPhone 4, expected to hit the Verizon network early in the New Year, Chou was keen to add: We think that the US mobile operators will be taking the lead and pushing 4G LTE in the US market… We are working on LTE devices for next year.”
Microsoft to show off a slew of tablets at CES
Who knew that the collective noun for a group of tablets was a “slew”?
Not us, but that’s the word that The New York Times has gone with when it describes just how many slate devices Microsoft will be showing off at CES in January.
The report quotes a number of people “familiar with Microsoft’s plans” and indicates that Mr Excitable himself, Steve Ballmer, will take to the stage to demo Windows devices from the likes of Dell and Samsung.
There’s even a suggestion that the shiny headed CEO will give us a sneak peak of some devices running Windows 8. Oooooh (that right there is genuine intrigue people).
The new tablet-like devices are said to have the iPad in their sights, although with an extended reach.
“The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint while doing work”. said a NYT source.
The Samsung one is described as being “similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin. It also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing”.
Now we’ve heard rumours about a slider QWERTY Samsung slate before, but it has so far been mentioned in the same breath as Android. Could it be that it will be making the jump to the good ship Windows?
The devices are said to run Windows 7 in landscape mode, but with a new “layered-interface” when you swivel the machine into portrait. Oooooh – again, genuine intrigue.
Windows tablets are often talked up and Ballmer even promised himself that we’d see some before Christmas. But, so far, the only big player to come to the market with one is HP with the business-aimed Slate 500, although we have also seen efforts from the likes of ViewSonic and Tega.
Could CES 2011 really be the big launch pad for mainstream Windows tablets?
We hope so, because with rumours of the iPad 2 heating up, and Honeycomb bringing Android into a more comfortable tablet space, next year could be an exciting one in the tablet market.
Fujitsu Launching 10.1 inch Win 7 Slate With Custom GUI
Windows 7 tablets are a definite player on the scene and Fujitsu is going to be entering into that segment as well with a 10.1 inch tablet. We suspect that from its size that its running a Pine Trail CPU but there are a number of Oak Trail slates hitting the street the same time this one is being released in Q1 2011. It also has a customized GUI though we don’t see any photos of it, it would be great to have an ExoPC GUI on this unit. We don’t know much else about it since the guys from Trendlupe.de were on a factory tour when they got their hands on with the prototype. However we do know that Fujitsu Germany has made some statements about the tablet and where they hope it falls in the ecosystem.
The Fujitsu Slate will unite the best of PC and Smartphone in itself. Look forward now currently on a 10.1-inch (25.7 cm) display and a best-in-class visibility from all angles .Sspecifications is not yet finalized.
Acer Iconia dual touchscreen touches down
This dual screen notebook is in fact, the newly announced Acer Iconia, a touch friendly machine that does away with the traditional controls, such as a touchpad and a keyboard, and throws in two touchscreen displays instead.
Both 14-inch screens are capable of 720p HD displays (they have 1366 x 768 resolutions), and can work independently of one another, which is handy if you fancy watching a movie and doing a bit of Facebooking at the same time.
They also support all-point, multi-touch functionality meaning that you can use all 10 of your fingers to control the Iconia.
“Intel is proud that our close collaboration with Acer has helped to deliver the world’s first 10 finger multi-touch dual-screen notebook with an exciting and innovative end-user experience, powered by the Intel Core i5 processor”, said Mooly Eden, vice-president of PC Client Group, Intel Corporation.
The Acer Ring feature also means that placing five fingers down will give you a nice circular media control option as well. And, of course, the bottom screen can become a virtual keyboard.
The tech on board is pretty impressive too, with Windows 7 Premium running via a choice of Intel Core i5 CPUs (i5-480M/i5-560M/i5-580M with3 MB L3 cache, 2.66/2.66/2.66 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.93/3.20/3.33 GHz), backed up by 4GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics with 128 MB of dedicated system memory.
There’s a 320 – 750GB HDD for all of your media storage, and connectivity should be a doddle with Wi-Fi, 3G and a USB 3.0 port (there’s also two old-school USB ports as well).
There’s also a HDMI output, for those rare occasions that two screens just aren’t enough.
Reports suggest that prices will start from £1499 with the machine set to land in the UK on 15 January, although there is nothing official as of yet.
Dell Streak Android 2.2 update
Dell has updated its 5-inch Dell Streak tablet-come-phone to Android 2.2 this week, and Pocket-lint has managed to grab a handset off Dell for a quick review to see what’s new and what the update brings users.
The biggest change is the introduction of a new User Interface called Dell Stage, that sees apps, songs, web pages, and photos bundled into collections and then presented as “Stages” for you to access.
There are eight stages at the moment and these are: Contacts, Email, Gallery, Home, Music, Social, Web.
Users can add to remove them how they see fit, and underneath the skin is still the standard Android looking tiles that allow you to place your favourite apps.
Also new is the addition of quick launch buttons with the emphasis on being quick. Press the small dots in the bottom corners of the screen and you’ll have about half a second to touch the correlating home tile.
Beyond the Dell Stage skin users will be getting a whole host of additions which include: improved performance & memory management, Adobe Flash 10.1 support, support for more apps like the native Twitter client, Skype for Android, the Firefox Beta browser, Live Wallpapers, the ability to create a portable W-iFi hotspot, an improved more-responsive phone dialler interface and enhanced Microsoft Exchange support.
Chinese ePad – iPad, Internet Explorer and Android, all on one box
When Chinese manufacturer/retailer Wise Technology came up with the marketing strategy for its ePad, it created a mood board of all the rival products and software… and then stuck it on the box.
The packaging and tablet take inspiration from the iPad, the “e” in the name is from Internet Explorer, and an errant Flash logo has appeared on, what is obviously, an Apple-inspired home screen – signifying that the ePad runs on Android. Even in the accompanying photos, it physically transforms from an iPad-alike into a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
We suspect that the truth is that the nice flock wallpaper shots of the device are the best indication of what you’ll get in the box; something fatter but similar to Apple’s hugely successful device. While the other pics possibly show off the operating system, as the ePad itself is operated on Android 2.1.
In fact, the spec list of the bizarre knock-off is reasonable, possibly even impressive. It sports a 10.2-inch (albeit resistive) touchscreen, with a 1GHz CPU. There’s 256MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage (upgradable by up to an extra 32GB through memory card). And there’s two USB ports.
But its biggest attraction, apart from being able to pass it off as a genuine iPad to your mates (if they’re looking at a peculiar angle, and in the dark) is that it costs $174.99 (£110 UK).
The company also has a 7-inch version for $139.99 (£88 UK), but there’s not quite as much mimicry at work with that one.
Onkyo outs 3G Windows 7 tablet for Japan only
Onkyo’s outed a new Windows 7 tablet — seems to be all the rage these days — with KDDI 3G onboard. The 11.6-inch TW317A7 tablet (which is essentially a re-badge of the ExoPC Slate which we reviewed) boasts a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, plus Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, and stereo speakers. The 11.6-inch multitouch display has a 1366 x 768 resolution, and the tablet brings with it Onkyo’s new custom ExTOUCH software which is apparently designed to enhance finger input in the OS and boasts a dedicated app launcher. The TW317A7 will be available in Japan very soon — as in this week — but Onkyo has yet to announce pricing.
AIVAnet 